


do you hear me? (he is in the rain)

by tende (mon_k)



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Blue Jaehyun, Doyoung is there too help a bit, First Meetings, Happy Ending, Light Angst, Lots of rain, M/M, Rain, Very sad Jaehyun
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-08
Updated: 2018-11-02
Packaged: 2019-07-28 01:15:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16231163
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mon_k/pseuds/tende
Summary: As much as Doyoung tried to call Jaehyun, there seemed to be no answer because of the raindrops drowning everything in their way. In the end, it is better being held than holding on.(Or the one in which Doyoung founds Jaehyun in a very low moment in his life and tries to help him through it.)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is all The Rose's fault. Like many already know, The Rose just dropped an album and tbh their music is by default my go to music to write, so this just wrote itself. 
> 
> Tittle and edited summary from She's in the rain by The Rose
> 
> (Pd. This is for someone that may never know its actually for them.)
> 
>  Update: This fic was betaed the 2nd of November 2018 by the amazing [Heart](https://twitter.com/search?q=gayncts&src=typd) and by the lovely [Julia](http://vayjikreuz.tumblr.com/)! Thank you both so so much. You really helped with my insecurities

The first thing Doyoung noticed was the man being utterly soaked.

Said man was sitting on a bench looking into the dark waters of the Han river before him. The rain was pouring down on him, yet he appeared to be totally unfazed by it. The wind started raging but he remained stoic in his position, elbows on his knees and head facing down.

The stranger was wrapped in a red bomber jacket that seemed out of place between the grays and blacks from the dull background. Like a dead star’s light, flickering and projecting its last rays.

The splash of red got up from the bench and started walking towards the railings of the bridge, where he stopped and looked up and into the waters intently.

 

Heartbeat.

 

The clock on the wall ticked.

 

Heartbeat.

 

And then the man turned around and deflated against the railings.

After some minutes it hit Doyoung. Suddenly he was flooded with an overwhelming need to give the stranger something to relieve him somehow.

Anything.

After another wave of pure drive, he found himself out of the cozy cafe where he was sitting and in the cold, wet streets. With his umbrella on hand, Doyoung strode towards the man and onto the bridge. When he was meters away, he saw the guy trembling and started running as a third wave of desperation ran through him.

But when he was a few steps away, hesitation pumped into his system. Maybe he shouldn’t get into somebody else’s business. Maybe the stranger didn’t want his help.

And yet his feet betrayed his mind and he found himself extending his arm, the umbrella hovering just above the man. For almost a minute the stranger didn’t seem to notice that he was no longer being hit by thick raindrops. And when he finally did, he looked up and Doyoung’s heart broke a little.

The stranger next to him looked awful. His eyes were puffy and red. In them, Doyoung saw someone who had given up. It was a terrifying thing to witness, someone drained of energy and all possible light. Doyoung crouched down and handed the man the umbrella, as he took out his coat to drape it over the stranger’s shoulders. Then Doyoung grabbed the umbrella back and sat next to him, shoulders barely brushing.

At first, neither Doyoung nor the man spoke. They remained in a silence that was surprisingly just that: plain silence. The only thing breaking it was the rain falling against the thin fabric of the umbrella, making a soft drumming sound over their heads, while a very dimmed light from the light poles shined against their faces.

The stranger took a deep breath, breaking their little bubble. Doyoung turned to watch him and found the other man looking back at him, right in the eyes, striking him with another wave of helplessness. Before he could say anything, the stranger turned away, gaze lost somewhere in between the water in the opposite side of the bridge and his own demons.

 

“It’s funny you know.”

Doyoung whipped his head towards the man, awed that he had finally spoken.

“It’s funny how I was about to leave this place when you came.” he let out a bitter laugh.

The stranger added after a pause: “I was about to give up.”

Doyoung was at loss for words. He looked at the other man in the eyes, trying to convey somehow some kind of feeling that washed away the loneliness he had witnessed in the other man’s eyes. “On what?”

The stranger kept staring back at him for seconds that slowly ticked into minutes and then into hours. There were some people passing by, some teens and some couples who were seeking a quiet night out. There were also people who sent strange stares their way but both remained fixed on each other. No one spoke up in the time being until the rain stopped falling and the stranger said: “I should get going. it's really late.” Doyoung glanced at his watch and it read 12 am.

They got up, Doyoung offering a hand to the other man. He picked up the umbrella and shook it a bit to get the water off. When Doyoung looked away from the umbrella and back up, he found the stranger some steps away from him.

“Do you want me to walk you home?” he blurted out.

The man turned to look at Doyoung, a bit of surprise flashing in his eyes.

“No, it's okay,” answered the stranger with a shrug. “ I shouldn’t be bringing strangers home anyway.”

After that, the man started walking to the opposite side from where Doyoung had come but a few steps away, he stopped and turned back, nodding towards him and disappearing into the dark side of the bridge.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, this wouldn't be possible without [Heart](https://twitter.com/search?q=gayncts&src=typd) and [Julia](http://vayjikreuz.tumblr.com/) :)

The next night, following his usual routine, Doyoung visited the cafe, vaguely hoping to see the man again, but of course, the stranger didn’t show up. 

The following night was the same, and the next too. Slowly, a whole week passed by and Doyoung found himself at his usual table, overlooking the street outside and a certain bridge, with his usual cappuccino in hand. The usual employees were working on the counter, the same book was lying wide open on the table in front of Doyoung and yet there was only one unusual thing missing: the red speck. Doyoung stared at the spot where they had sat together a week ago and then he let out a sigh, returning his attention to the book, hoping that the stranger had been able to overcome whatever was bothering him. 

Deep inside of him, a small part of him still hoped to see the stranger again - or any sign that he had been there; but then he realized how pointless his wish was. It was obvious the stranger had a life of his own that didn’t involve going to a bridge by the Han River to burden his worries to a stranger at night. Besides, if the stranger wanted to do so, there were many other bridges along the Han River and nice people to talk to.

Doyoung spent the next hour reading, mind and eyes focused only on absorbing the information in front of him. It wasn’t until a couple walked into the cafe, cursing about the weather that he finally looked up and realized that the same rain from a week ago was pouring down outside. He turned his head to look outside the window, gaze lost in the street. And right there, sitting on the same bench, profusely soaked was the speck, this time with a blue jacket hanging loosely from his shoulders. Droplets hung from his brown hair, making him resemble a constellation. 

Doyoung’s body was filled with an uncertainty again and many insecurities flooded his mind. Should he butt into the stranger’s business again? Should he spend his time with the man? 

Should he get attached? 

But, just like the last night he saw the man, the stranger looked up to stare at the dark waters and that was all it took for Doyoung to bolt out of the cafe and into the wet streets. He opened his umbrella as he took hurried steps towards the man. 

“Hey.” 

The stranger turned to look at him, the same dread in his eyes as the night a week ago. “Oh,” he said looking into the waters again and moving a bit to the right so that Doyoung could sit next to him. “Hey.”

The silence between them stretched into minutes, the only thing daring to break it was the heavy raindrops falling against the umbrella.

“Did you know that the average precipitation in January can cover up to two centimeters of the surface of the city?” 

The stranger turned to look at him with wide eyes, probably surprised to hear Doyoung break the silence. “I didn’t know that,” the man said, carefully. “That’s not even enough to make you slip.”

“But it’s enough to ruin your shoes.”

The stranger looked at Doyoung with slightly raised eyebrows and then his lips curled into a smile, letting out a very small, barely audible laugh. Then both of them turned their attention towards the Han waters and stayed there until they realized how late it was and decided to part ways.

“Do you need me to walk you home?” Doyoung offered again.

“Don’t worry,” said the stranger walking away from the protection of the umbrella and into the rain, sending some kind of dejavú cursing through Doyoung. “See you.”

Like the last time, the stranger turned around a few steps deeper into the bridge to nod at Doyoung.

From that moment on, they both kind of fell into a weird routine. Every Friday, Doyoung would arrive at the cafe around six or seven to work on his thesis and the stranger would show up at eight, alternating between the red bomber jacket and the blue one. Some days it would rain very heavily and others it felt as if the sky had run out of water but was still trying to rain on them. They would sit on the bench - mostly in silence, with Doyoung grabbing the umbrella above their heads while telling the stranger facts about rain.

And the more they talked, the more days they spent in that strange situation, the more Doyoung grew attached to the brunette and started anticipating every Friday nights with fervor. 

He couldn’t help but realize that the stranger was slowly smiling more, opening up, crack by crack.

“Did you know that in Seoul out of the three hundred sixty-five days per year it rains one hundred and ten days?” asked Doyoung one day.

The man always answered with a small sound of awe followed by an “I didn’t know” and some other comment. 

But it wasn't until one night when the stranger arrived at their usual meeting spot looking more disheveled and worried than usual, that Doyoung saw the pieces in the stranger’s wall began to fall. 

They had been in each other’s company for a while, when he told the stranger his usual fact about rain, followed by the stranger’s hum. They had stayed in silence for a few long moments when Doyoung felt the stranger’s gaze on him. Before Doyoung could turn to look at him, the stranger rested his head softly on Doyoung’s shoulder. To the man’s surprise, sudden tears started to stream down the stranger’s face and sobs shook his frame. After Doyoung recovered from the shock of the sudden contact, he put one arm over the stranger’s shoulders and pressed his hand against the man’s arm as if trying to tell him _I am here, I am not going anywhere_. The man didn’t seem to have gotten the message, because moments later he turned towards Doyoung to bury his head in the latter’s chest, as sobs invaded him again.

That night, they parted ways very late. When the stranger’s tears had dried up, he peeled himself from Doyoung and gave him a small, sad smile. Then got up, bidding his usual goodbye to Doyoung. But this time he hesitated a bit before walking away.

“I’m Jaehyun, by the way,” said the man, eyes still swollen from crying.

“Doyoung!” answered the man, loud enough for Jaehyun to hear. The stranger raised his hand above his head and waved without looking back. 

The next week went without a hitch for Doyoung. In fact, it was a great week. He got the approval for his thesis and received the date for the sustentation in front of the jury. And yet he found himself thinking daily about Jaehyun and how helpless he had felt when he heard the other man cry. When Friday rolled in, he arrived at the cafe around seven, hoping to see Jaehyun and tell him the news, lighting up his mood a bit. He really needed to know how the other man was doing.

Half an hour passed by.

An hour.

Two.

And then it was ten and Jaehyun was still missing. 

It wasn’t until his watch hit eleven that he really started to worry. A lot of scenarios clouded his mind, all ending in horrible outcomes. 

A car accident. 

A horrible emergency. 

A bad decision.

Once it was closing time in the cafe, he went to their bench and sat down. Hand on the umbrella, he waited, dozing off a bit from time to time. But when the clock hit twelve, Doyoung accepted the sad truth: Jaehyun wasn't coming. Something inside told him to give up, and for some unknown reason, he listened to it this time. 

The second Friday Jaehyun didn’t show up, the clouded scenarios started to become way more vivid in his mind. 

An abusive parent. 

A murder. 

Doyoung let his mind run free as he waited diligently, sat on the bench. Sometimes he hoped he had aphantasia or something that wouldn’t let him imagine all these sorts of things. Maybe that would make him worry less. 

A terrible decision. 

But then the third Friday came around and a sense of utter dread filled his entire body as he walked down the road towards the cafe. There, he ordered a bottle of water because he didn’t think he could swallow anything at the moment. The cashier raised an eyebrow at him, probably wondering why he was there way earlier than usual and ordering something out of the ordinary. 

A whole hour went by and he wasn't able to read anything. Instead, he stared at the bench through the window. 

Another hour of people passing by, yet no red or blue jacket. The shore of the Han river was filled with families and couples. By the street, there was some kind of small festival, with food stalls and people selling many goods. 

Doyoung grabbed his bottle and book and went outside in an attempt to distract himself for a bit. He found himself going by pure inertia towards their bench. He sat down to stare at the people and the river. But still found himself consumed by a feeling of worry. 

A storm of tears streamed down his face and he hid his face between his open legs, arms resting on his knees. His body was shaking with sobs when he felt something hovering just above him, blocking the unusual scorching winter sun shining above him. Slowly, he opened his eyes and looked up and found a red shadow casted on the floor and on him. He realized there was a red umbrella blocking the sun and being held by a shadow that rose above him. A shadow wearing a purple jacket. He scrunched his eyes and saw his face. 

The face he had hoped to see once again. 

_Just once more._

Doyoung stood up and his heart broke a little when he saw Jaehyun. His face was covered in bruises. His lips were split and what looked like a bandage around his collarbone was peeking from his shirt. 

“What _happened_?” 

For a moment, Doyoung met the other man’s eyes, and right there, where he had gotten used to seeing nothing, a void of pure blackness, he saw for the first time something resembling a fire, glistening very deep down. 

“I am free, Doyoung-ah.” 

And just with those words, a weight was lifted from Doyoung’s shoulder, just like the sun had taken away the rain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ( I was planning on another chapter where we got a sneak peek about Jae's story. Would you like one?)

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading this!! It means a lot :D  
> This is actually a two-shot, so expect the second part this week!!
> 
> You can always hit me up on [tumblr](https://www.augustds.com), [cc](https://curiouscat.me/mon_k6) and/or [twitter](https://twitter.com/mon_k6). 
> 
> Remember that kudos, feedback, and comments help writers a whole lot!


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